Project Title:

Elk Falls Alive App

Project Organization:

Museum at Campbell River

Project Investment:

  • Island Coastal Economic Trust: $42,500
  • BC Parks: $25,000
  • BC Hydro: $25,000
  • Destination BC: $10,000
  • Quinsam Hatchery: $10,000
  • City of Campbell River: $5,995
  • Museum at Campbell River: $9,830
  • Total Budget: $128,325

Project Highlight:

Elk Falls Provincial Park was established in 1940 to protect the waterfall and canyon. Most of the water that once flowed over the falls is now diverted for power production. In 2015, the canyon's suspension bridge was built.

The Museum at Campbell River is the largest regional museum on Vancouver Island. With over 60 years of experience delivering a range of immersive exhibits, the museum was looking for innovative ways to expand interpretation of the area beyond its walls. Elk Falls Provincial Park, with its network of trails, old growth forests, popular waterfall and suspension bridge, and thousands of years of Indigenous history presented and ideal environment for novel mediums of discovery and learning.

Led by the Museum at Campbell River, the Elk Falls Alive mobile app will bring the local landscape to life through on-the-spot nature videos, narrative audio and other virtual content. Available for download at the park entrance or remotely, the cross-platform app will support a range of use cases from public touchscreens applications, to private home theatre or school desktop settings. The app will also include an intuitive flora and fauna identifier as visitors walk the park, and a tourism map connecting users to other attractions in the area.

The app is based on the Naturalive platform, which has the potential to connect a network of natural destinations on Vancouver Island and beyond. Developed in partnership with a local technology company, modernized interpretation services will engage wider audiences and younger demographics, and enhance the profile of the region’s emerging technology sector. As local knowledge holders pass away, the app will also serve to preserve Indigenous history and storytelling. Elk Falls Alive is anticipated to launch in 2021.